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Video: LouCity's Ranjitsingh says training always 'intense'
Know the foe: Wilmington Hammerheads FC

Louisville City FC will carry in its 16-game unbeaten streak Sunday to a 6 p.m. road match against the Wilmington Hammerheads. As good as LouCity has been at home, the club has yet to lose away from Louisville Slugger Field this season.
Now, for more about the Hammerheads…
Record: 6-5-5 (23 points) in 17matches
Conference: Eastern
Standings: 9th
Coach: Mark Briggs
History: Started in 1996, the Hammerheads quickly established winning tradition. They claimed a league title in 2003, made some deep U.S. Open Cup runs and played the Charleston Battery in the 2012 USL championship game. The Hammerheads have recently established affiliations with Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and New York FC.
Stadium: Wilmington plays at 6,000-seat Legion Stadium, a historic venue opened in the 1930s and renovated in 2011. The surface is artificial turf.
Series with LouCity: Louisville won both the clubs’ meetings during its inaugural season last year before playing to a 2-2 draw on June 11 at Slugger Field. The Hammerheads scored the equalizer in stoppage time, but LouCity continued on its unbeaten streak that still stands at 16 games.
Current form: Wilmington entered its previous fixture with LouCity on a two-game winning streak for the first time all season. The Hammerheads pieced together a pair of wins once again before falling 3-0 Thursday at Bethlehem Steel. Now comes a quick turnaround to Sunday.
What to know: The Hammerheads have missed the playoffs two out of the last three years, but under Briggs, hired in 2015, the club is just one spot out of the postseason picture. “We’d ideally like to end the season as the fifth seed,” Briggs recently said. “We have the opportunity to secure that, we just need to play hard, and play smart for the rest of the season.”
Player to watch: Wilmington spreads around its scoring, as 10 players have at least one goal and Bruno Caldini Perone a team-high four. But it’s Austin Martz, who scored the game-winner at Charlotte, who has attempted a team-high 19 shots for the Hammerheads. Martz, a Georgetown University product, started his pro career in Europe’s Malta before signing with Wilmington. He scored his other goal this season two games back in a win over Toronto FC II.
Another to know: In a 2-1 win Saturday over in-state rival Charlotte Independence, Hammerheads goalkeeper Eric Ati served as the standout, racking up seven saves. He was named to the USL’s Team of the Week for his performance.
Q&A: Get to know LouCity striker Chandler Hoffman

Louisville City FC forward Chandler Hoffman recently chatted with LouCity writer Caitlin Ladd for the first in a series of question and answer sessions with the club’s players. Get to know the recently named USL Midseason MVP below.
What’s your favorite thing to do off the field?
I love music. I love going to live music concerts and I love films. I love watching movies.
Because you like watching films, what’s your favorite?
That’s tough. I love Denzel (Washington). I think he’s a great actor, so I love Man on Fire. That’s probably one of my top movies. Then there are some foreign films that I really like. There’s this one called The Untouchables. It’s a French film that I really like.
What do you usually do to prepare for a game?
The main thing is hydration, sleep, and I love music before the games. It really gets my mindset right. I watch a lot of players, and I even watch some of my own goals to get that confidence right before the game.
Do you have a game day playlist?
I do, but it kind of changes as the season progresses. I can’t just listen to the same thing.
What do you have on it? Certain artists?
It depends. I like a lot of hip hop. Before games I like music that has good beats and gets my mindset going.
Do you have any pregame rituals or traditions?
For some reason, I’ve always taped my right wrist. I always put my shoes on in a certain order, so I put my left boot on first.
How do you usually approach training or know when you’ve had a good day?
For me as a striker, the main thing is scoring goals. I judge my whole performance — games, trainings — on how many opportunities I’m getting and how many I put in the back of the net.

Do you have a favorite soccer memory?
I have a couple. Winning the MLS cup in 2014 was a professional moment. Scoring my first professional goal for the LA Galaxy in the Champions League was another big moment.
If you had to play another position, which would it be and why?
This may sound crazy, and I’ve told a lot of people this, but I love to play anywhere in the attacking part of the field, and I think if I had to play defense I don’t know if I would play anymore. I just love to score goals, and if I had to play anywhere else I think I would retire from soccer.
If you weren’t a pro soccer player, what would you be doing?
I majored in communication and film and television, so I think something in TV or film.
If you could eat dinner with anyone, who would it be?
Oh, anyone. I guess Robin van Persie since I really admired him from a young age. I have a lot of questions I’d like to ask him about the position and his experiences.
Speaking of food, do you prefer to cook for others, or have others cook for you? What would you like to eat?
Have others cook for me, for sure. I love salmon. I love — you don’t really cook it — but sushi, so that wouldn’t really be cooked for me. Fresh vegetables, sweet potatoes, that type of thing.
Where is some place you’d like to travel?
I always wanted to go to Australia. Since I was a kid I started making goals and most of my life goals I’ve accomplished, but I’ve not been to Australia yet.
What are you hoping to do this offseason?
I will be going straight back to UCLA and finishing my college degree. I’ve enrolled in classes, and as soon as we’ve won the championship then I go straight back.
What’s one thing on your bucket list?
I want to play for the U.S. National team. That would be a big thing on the bucket list for me.
What’s your favorite TV show?
I loved Entourage. Entourage was my all-time favorite. I watched that right before I was going out to college because I was going to UCLA. Since I was from Alabama, I was thinking this is what L.A. was all about and I was really excited to go out there.
What’s something that you completely geek out over?
I love Kings of Leon, so when I got to seem them live at the Hollywood Bowl, that was a pretty cool moment for me.
What’s something your teammates don’t know about you?
A really random thing: When I was young I got bit by a chipmunk. It was getting attacked by my next-door neighbor’s cat, and I go over and save the chipmunk’s life and I pick him up, and it repaid me by biting my finger. So I go to the emergency room and it turns out squirrels have rabies — chipmunks don’t. So if you ever get bit by a chipmunk, you’re okay.
LouCitys Hoffman mid-year USL MVP, Smith top rookie

Louisville City FC claimed two-thirds of the United Soccer League’s midseason awards announced Monday, the latest achievement amid the first-place club’s 16-match unbeaten streak that dates back more than three months.
Fans overwhelmingly voted Chandler Hoffman the USL’s Midseason Most Valuable Player and Kyle Smith the Midseason Rookie of the Year for their contributions to LouCity.
Hoffman, the lone striker up top, registered his team-high 12th goal of the season Saturday in a 1-1 draw with the Charleston Battery. The 25-year-old out of UCLA has Major League Soccer experience having won the MLS Cup while with the LA Galaxy and is this year chasing the USL’s Golden Boot won in 2015 by LouCity’s Matt Fondy, another MVP.
“Chandler, obviously, has come in, he’s been lively, he’s scored a lot of goals,” said coach James O’Connor. “He’s been a threat for us going forward.”
Smith, a Cincinnati native and Transylvania University graduate, made the club as a tryout player and has gone on to solidify a spot at right back following in the footsteps of 2015 star Bryan Burke, the USL’s Defender of the Year. Smith is second in the league in assists with 5.
“If you’d said to me at the start of the season that Kyle was going to play the amount of games that he has, I’d say, ‘Wow, where’s he going to play?’” O’Connor said. “I wouldn’t have seen it. The respect we have for Kyle is tremendous. He’s come in, and really epitomizes what we’re about. We speak and preach about people working hard in training, being the best they can be, and then you’re going to get an opportunity.
“He’s come in, he’s worked really hard, he’s been given an opportunity and he’s taken it.”
Additionally in voting over the last week, fans elected FC Cincinnati’s Mitch Hildebrandt the Midseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
LouCity is back in action Sunday, hitting the road for a 6 p.m. match against Wilmington Hammerheads FC that can be seen live at louisvillecityfc.com.
Takeaways: OConnor reflects on late Battery equalizer

Louisville City FC coach James O’Connor on Monday said that controversy surrounding the Charleston Battery’s 84th-minute equalizer hasn’t come to an end.
When LouCity goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh appeared to have hold of the ball in both hands following a Charleston free kick, a Battery attacker dislodged it. Chris Tsonis then finished the visitors’ only shot on goal in a 1-1 draw at Louisville Slugger Field.
O’Connor labeled it “a really poor call,” saying at a regular weekly press conference that officials should have whistled off the goal and given LouCity a free kick.
“From our point of view, it’s obviously very disappointing because that’s out of our control,” the coach said. “We can’t have any impact on that. I think from the referee’s point of view it’s obviously a mistake.
VIDEO: O’Connor’s full press conference
O’Connor said the United Soccer League has not contacted LouCity’s technical staff about the matter.
The goal offset Chandler Hoffman’s 62nd-minute strike, his team-leading 12th goal of the season netted after halftime substitute Cameron Lancaster crossed, deflected his pass off a defender and then grazed Hoffman. LouCity walked away with one point in the USL standings rather than the full three.
“The problem I have is I expect when you make a mistake is, you acknowledge it and put your hand up. You don’t show arrogance,” the coach said. “That’s where the league needs to also do a better job of acknowledging things and say a mistake has been made. There’s a level of accountability for everyone.
“When somebody makes a mistake, you admit to it, and then you try and learn from it. Don’t try and push things aside, because at the end of the day, it’s a big mistake. It had a major impact on the game. I don’t expect things like that to be left alone and left untouched. I expect people to acknowledge it.”
With LouCity still in first place, atop the USL’s Eastern Conference standings, here’s more from O’Connor’s meeting with the media:
- On play during Saturday’s match: “We had a lot of possession, and they made it difficult for us. I think our tempo needed to be quicker. I definitely felt we didn’t play as well as we had done previously, but we still completely dominated the game and I think that gives an indication of what our standards are.”
- On preparing for Sunday’s game at Wilmington: “We need to monitor the weather. I think it’s going to be really hot. Our kickoff is going to be 6 p.m., and it’s going to be mid-90s this week. We need to play quickly and make sure we’re aware fully of Wilmington’s threats. They had a great result against Charlotte over the weekend. They made it difficult for us here when we played them.”
- On Kyle Smith and Chandler Hoffman in the running for USL midseason awards: “Kyle is someone who’s come from an open tryout. The respect we have for Kyle is tremendous. He really epitomizes what we’re all about. He’s come in and worked hard and been given an opportunity and he’s grabbed it. Chandler’s come in, he’s been lively, and he’s scored goals. He’s been a threat for us going forward. Both of those guys deserve a lot of credit.”
Video: Sights and sounds from LouCity-Charleston
LouCity played better than to get a tie against Battery

Louisville City FC captain Aodhan Quinn described the Charleston Battery’s defense as compact and solidly shaped. For 45 minutes Saturday, LouCity didn’t generate a shot against it.
In the locker room at halftime, coach James O’Connor urged his players to player with higher tempo. And walking out of it, O’Connor made two changes, inserting Cameron Lancaster and Kadeem Dacres as substitutes in the midfield.
The changes proved to be catalysts in a 1-1 draw Quinn later described as “disappointing,” because while LouCity addressed its issue — sluggish, indecisive play — the club didn’t come away with a win at home.
“I think we played better than to get a tie,” Quinn said. “I don’t think it was up to the standard that we wanted to play at.”
VIDEO: Watch Quinn’s full postgame press conference
Louisville unbeaten streak lived, now at 16 games and nearing the 2013 Richmond Kickers’ USL-record 22 straight games without a loss. But a first half without a look at goal left LouCity short in the scoring column.
Atop the USL’s Eastern Conference standings with an 11-1-6 record, the first-place club has something to improve upon at training this week. Next up is a July 17 road match against the Wilmington Hammerheads which, as with Charleston, scored in the dying minutes this season to force a draw at Slugger Field.
“We completely dominated the game, but we didn’t play quick enough,” O’Connor said. “…I thought we were sluggish in the way we move the ball. It wasn’t quite the same tempo it needed to be. Second half, it got a little bit better. We got a little bit more more opportunities from it, but it still wasn’t like we normally have.
“But equally, when you look and, like I said, they haven’t even had a shot on target, you need to win the game. I think that’s the disappointing thing about tonight.”
HIGHLIGHTS: Top plays from LouCity-Charleston
Dacres set up a number of attacks, but it was Lancaster who delivered a cross in the 62nd minute that deflected off both a Charleston defender and LouCity’s Chandler Hoffman for a goal.
“We felt their presence,” Quinn said.
The Battery’s 84th-minute equalizer wasn’t without controversy, as LouCity goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh appeared to have a hold on the ball before it was knocked out of his hands and scored.
“We were just trying to find another way to get another goal so we could put the game away,” Quinn added. “We had most of the ball the whole game and they get one set piece and whether it’s in Greg’s hands or not, they got a cheap goal from us and we’ve got to change that.”
Kyle Smith, the LouCity right back who’s tied for the USL lead with 5 assists, said his team needs to “keep at it and make sure we stick to the game plan” as players look ahead to Wilmington.
“It is disappointing,” Smith added, “but we have to move on. We can’t really dwell on it.”
LouCity extends unbeaten run despite late Battery goal
Louisville City FC continued an undefeated streak of USL games on Saturday, registering its 16th straight while playing the Charleston Battery to a 1-1 draw. But the result left the home side wanting more after the Battery scored the equalizer in the 84th minute at Louisville Slugger Field.
LouCity allowed just one shot on goal — the tying strike — and possessed the ball for most of 90-plus minutes against a Battery team that entered with three straight victories of its own.
“Look, obviously we should have won the game,” said coach James O’Connor. “…It’s a difficult one to swallow when somebody comes here and they don’t get a shot and target and they end up leaving here with a point. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”
After scoring midway through the second half, LouCity held a lead for more than 20 minutes, until Charleston executed on a quickly taken free kick. Keeper Greg Ranjitsingh made an attempt to corral the ball before a shot was taken, but the Battery’s Chris Tsonis recovered possession and booted in an 84th minute goal.
Replay showed Ranjitsingh clutch the ball before knocked away by a Charleston player.
“From where I was, it looked like he had contact,” O’Connor said. “Greg was saying he caught the ball. I don’t want to say anything about the officials. I don’t want to get in trouble. But when you look at the angle, for us it definitely looks like there’s contact.
“You can’t change it. It is what it is. I think when you get a night like that where you don’t even get a shot on target, it’s just a bitter pill to swallow.”
LouCity failed to generate a shot during the first half on Charleston a game after firing a season-high 25 Monday in a win over FC Montreal. A pair of substitutes out of the locker room, Cameron Lancaster and Kadeem Dacres, sparked the attack.
In the middle of tallying four shots, Lancaster rifled a 62nd-minute cross from the right side. It bounced off lunging defender Taylor Mueller, then grazed LouCity’s Chandler Hoffman, notching him a 12th goal on the season.
Speaking of Lancaster, right back Kyle Smith said, “He’s good at taking people on one versus one, and every time he gets the opportunity, I scream at him, ‘Take him on! Take him on!’ That’s what he did, and he fired a good ball and I think it hit Chandler’s knee or something and went in the back of the net.”
By earning one point in the USL standings, first-place LouCity maintained its lead over the New York Red Bulls II after a four-game home stand. Louisville has lost just once this season, and not since an April 2 meeting with New York.
The club next hits the road, playing July 17 against the Wilmington Hammerheads, another team that scored late at Slugger Field this season to force a draw.
“We’re obviously disappointed,” said LouCity captain Aodhan Quinn. “We want to get three points. We want to win, especially at home. We want to get three points, we want to get a shutout, and that sort of goal every game and today we only got one point and we didn’t get a shutout and that’s disappointing.”
Summary
Match: Louisville City FC vs. Charleston Battery
Date: July 9, 2016
Venue: Slugger Field
Kickoff: 7:30
Weather: Partly cloudy, 85 degrees
Attendance: 7,526
Man of the Match: Chandler Hoffman
Scoring Summary
LouCity (0, 1, 0)
FC Montreal (0 , 1, 0)
Lineups
Louisville City FC: 13-Greg Ranjitsinngh, 24-Kyle Smith, 18-Paco Craig, 6-Tarek Morad, 2-Ben Newnam, 4-Aodhan Quinn, 36-Paolo DelPiccolo (8-Guy Abend 67′), 11-Niall McCabe (9-Cameron Lancaster 46′), 77-Andrew Lubahn (7-Kadeem Dacres 46′), 17-Chandler Hoffman (5-Conor Shanosky 85′), 22-George Davis IV (79′ 10-Magnus Rasmussen).
Subs not used: 28-Tim Dobrowolski, 14-Ilija Ilic.
Head coach: James O’Connor
Charleston Battery: 1-Alex Tambakis, 6-Shawn Ferguson, 4-Taylor Mueller, 7-O’Brian Woodbine, 11-Quinton Griffith (Romario Williams 46′), 20-Justin Portillo, 24-Zach Prince (Emmanuel Adjetey 78′), 12-Maikel Chang, 10-Ataullah Guerra (3-Forrest Lasso 83′), 16-Heviel Cordoves, 17-Ricky Garbanzo (25-Chris Tsonis 70′).
Subs not used: 23-Odisnel Cooper, 8-Neveal Hackshaw.
Head coach: Michael Anhaeuser
Stats Summary: LouCity / Charleston
Shots: 11 / 8
Shots on Goal: 2 / 1
Saves: 0 / 1
Corner Kicks: 13 / 3
Fouls: 10 / 11
Offside: 2 / 3
Officials
Referee: Michael Lavergne
Assistant Referee 1: Ronald Stuver
Assistant Referee 2: Evan Sizer
4th Official: Benjamin Hall-Volpenhein